Nothing to See Here...

[azdisneylover]

I am hoping we will see more of the fall weather here during the day. It is finally cooling down some in the evenings now! I wish the days were cool enough to bake. I know it won't be long now, but I have found a few recipes I really want to try! My favorite Christmas movie is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It is a must to watch on Black Friday!

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry you are too funny! You and my sister would get alone really well...any time of year I go to her house she is listening to Christmas music...the only CDs she has in her car are Christmas music...drives me crazy! . I am someone who likes Christmas music on Christmas Eve and Christmas day...then I'm done.

I hope you are able to make both Halloween and Christmas trips happen. As it stands now I won't be able to make a trip back until 2014...so sad! but it is what it is...i'll live through the Dis for a while.

Hi, Dawn! I'm glad you're still here!

You know, 2014 sounds like it's far away...but it may not seem that far away in another few months. Look at how quickly this year has passed by. If 2013 is anything like 2012 has been, your 2014 trip will seem like it's happening next month!!

I am a freak for Christmas and all Christmasy things...but I do put it in some kind of context, or else the 'magic' of it wears off for me, and I don't want that to happen. I'll explain...

I don't listen to Christmas songs year-round. You wouldn't come to my place and find me listening to "O Holy Night" in March, for example (even though I think it's a beautiful song). However, in a sort of 'surprise' context - when I am not expecting to hear or see anything Christmasy - it makes me happy because it's like a little burst of magic.

It's like when there is a random Christmas TV marathon on in July - it's unexpected, so it's extra fun...but I wouldn't want to put up a tree, sing "Jingle Bells" and eat gingerbread in July

Today's survey (with the 625 Christmas songs - and it really was, literally, 625 snippets of songs) was a total unexpected treat! I had no clue what the survey was about until I got into it. It was a surprise. I think that's why I was so gleeful about it.

And also, because we're only a couple of months out from Christmas, it seems to me like it's okay to start enjoying Christmasy things.

I very much associate Christmas songs with a certain mood/atmosphere/feeling that happens specifically in November and December - especially in December. It's like something extra special is in the air. So when I hear songs in October, it reminds me of that special feeling/mood/atmosphere, and that the holiday will be here very soon. But nothing compares to the actual holiday season.

I think that if I were to listen to Christmas songs year-round, all of the novelty of Christmas and the magic that I feel goes along with it would be lost. So unless one of those 'surprise bursts of Christmas' pops up at an unexpected time, I don't like to risk losing the 'specialness' of the season.

I may not be as bad as your sister, because I do listen to other music and I don't seek out holiday tunes year-round unless they are somehow presented to me! But within the proper context and reasonable time frame (within 2 months of Christmas, I'd say), yes, I am a Christmas fanatic - and that includes the music too!


But I am going to try to pop into that harvest/Fall/pumpkin event at Farmers Market this coming weekend (which I mentioned a few days ago), so it will be all about Halloween on that day! I wish I lived in one of those fun neighborhoods that decorates with 3000 pumpkins everywhere, but I don't. There are no orchards in my immediate neighborhood, so I can't go apple picking. I have to take what I can get!

​

Now, as for my DLR trips - I guess I look at it this way...whether or not a Halloween day trip happens, the holiday season at DLR officially begins in 28 days (11/12). Realistically, the decorations in both parks and some of the holiday activities should be up and running a couple of days before that. I don't know yet if I will aim for an 11/9, 11/10, 11/11 or 11/12 trip, but I will be there on one of those days.

So, Halloween trip or no Halloween trip, I will be at DLR in 28 days or sooner for the holiday season! That's not far away at all.

​

I am hoping we will see more of the fall weather here during the day. It is finally cooling down some in the evenings now! I wish the days were cool enough to bake. I know it won't be long now, but I have found a few recipes I really want to try! My favorite Christmas movie is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It is a must to watch on Black Friday!

Hi, Linda!

Well, if it's supposed to be 94 degrees where I am in 2 days, then I can't imagine what it's supposed to be where you are (since you, PHXscuba and Dawn are all in Arizona!)! The Summer will just not go away, will it?

I don't have a good oven for baking, but I've heard several people say that they love Fall because they can turn on the oven again and start baking!

What goodies will you be baking?

I love "Christmas Vacation" too! How can anyone not love it? "Elf" is also a great movie. But I think that "Love Actually" has to be my favorite of the contemporary movies - in other words, not counting classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" and things like that.

 

[azdisneylover]

I knew I should have just opened up the notepad and posted my thoughts
and copy and paste instead of trying to remember what I want to say with
the family running around making noise. With that said,
we are looking forward to all the Rankin-Bass shows. That really makes it
feel like Christmas.

How awesome you got that cool survey to rate Christmas music! Hoping this
is just a start to a bunch of really cool surveys for you to do.I love when
you take a survey, and then they send you the product to test out too.

I know you will work something out to get to DL soon and we will have a
feast for the eyes will all the wonderful pictures you will bestow upon
us on this thread!

Some items I am looking forward to baking are: cherry almond biscotti, orange walnut biscotti, snowballs (Mexican wedding cakes), banana bread, banana cookies, carrot cake, and a whole list of recipes I want to try for the first time! I collect banana bread recipes. LOL

 

[Sherry E]

I knew I should have just opened up the notepad and posted my thoughts
and copy and paste instead of trying to remember what I want to say with
the family running around making noise. With that said,
we are looking forward to all the Rankin-Bass shows. That really makes it
feel like Christmas.

How awesome you got that cool survey to rate Christmas music! Hoping this
is just a start to a bunch of really cool surveys for you to do.I love when
you take a survey, and then they send you the product to test out too.

I know you will work something out to get to DL soon and we will have a
feast for the eyes will all the wonderful pictures you will bestow upon
us on this thread!

Some items I am looking forward to baking are: cherry almond biscotti, orange walnut biscotti, snowballs (Mexican wedding cakes), banana bread, banana cookies, carrot cake, and a whole list of recipes I want to try for the first time! I collect banana bread recipes. LOL

Linda -

I can't imagine a holiday season without the Rankin-Bass (or Peanuts) specials! They are classics - and there are so many more than what I posted photos of. Those are just the more well-known ones, but there are a lot of them.

For some reason this year has been a non-stop marathon of testing out products - and full-size (or even large size) bottles and packages too! Not sample sizes. You're right - it's fun to test things out or get a particularly fun survey every now and then. That Christmas song survey today completely took me by surprise - usually I don't get surveys that are that interesting to me!

I will at the very least get to DLR on or before 11/12/12. If I don't do a Halloween trip I will at least be there on a fact gathering/photo-taking mission at the beginning of the season. I am not missing that - and I will, indeed, try to take an array of photos. Thank you again, as always, for all the kind words of support and encouragement!

The banana bread and banana cookies sound amazing right about now! I could go for some yummy banana goodies! I hope you can start baking soon so you can tell us all about it (I only wish I had a good oven for baking, and a good-sized kitchen to do it in, but I don't!).

 

[deejdigsdis]

Oh, I am so jealous! I would take that survey for free! Maybe I'd even pay to take the survey! I have been listening to Christmas music on Pandora (I think I have 3 Christmas stations) off and on this entire year. Not just while reading your TR. I will let you know if there is some sudden change due to the survey results.

I've never seen that Mad Monster Party. I came across a clip of it on YouTube once when I was searching for the show when Frosty marries Crystal. I couldn't remember what that one was called.

What is that one with Frosty and Rudolph together? That doesn't look familiar to me.

My older sister made life-size (or larger than life-size) wooden cutouts of the Halloween Peanuts characters and placed them in her yard back when she lived in a house. (She's in an apt. now.) They were amazing. She drew them/painted them perfectly. She is very talented in that way. She had a section of all the trick-or-treaters, a section of Linus with a sign sitting in pumpkins, and then Snoopy (aka Red Baron) was positioned on the fence. She made life-size Disney Christmas ones as well.

I had to chuckle when I saw "Santa Claus is Coming To Town." Recently I was having a discussion with a friend who also has sons. We were talking about teaching them about the birds and the bees. In our family, we tell the boys the correct terms for the male anatomy. Well, in her family they call one particular part of the male anatomy by a silly name instead of using the proper term. I just laughed and laughed and said, "You know that's one of the elves names in 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town,' right???" Well, she didn't. She didn't really seem to know what show I was talking about, either. Still gives me a chuckle!

 

[tksbaskets]

So many decisions to make about your AP. I'd vote for the 11/11 and 11/12 trip so you are there on the first advertised 'holiday' day. I've seen shows on what Disney can do overnight and I'd hate for you ( and vicariously me) to miss out on any new holiday touches!

I'm still hoping you can sneak in a Halloween day trip.

 

[PHXscuba]

Sherry, I love Christmas music as much as the next person, but I think 625 snippets might have put me on sugar overload. Glad they asked you to do it and paid you well. My kids have started their Christmas music for band, so it's interesting to try to "name that tune,"especially if they don't have the melody part. I get to sit through four Christmas concerts in December. I will love it, but DS7 will probably be trying to tunnel out after a couple of them. Poor youngest

Seize the day!! Go to Disneyland!!

PHXscuba

 

[Sherry E]

Oh, I am so jealous! I would take that survey for free! Maybe I'd even pay to take the survey! I have been listening to Christmas music on Pandora (I think I have 3 Christmas stations) off and on this entire year. Not just while reading your TR. I will let you know if there is some sudden change due to the survey results.

I've never seen that Mad Monster Party. I came across a clip of it on YouTube once when I was searching for the show when Frosty marries Crystal. I couldn't remember what that one was called.

What is that one with Frosty and Rudolph together? That doesn't look familiar to me.

My older sister made life-size (or larger than life-size) wooden cutouts of the Halloween Peanuts characters and placed them in her yard back when she lived in a house. (She's in an apt. now.) They were amazing. She drew them/painted them perfectly. She is very talented in that way. She had a section of all the trick-or-treaters, a section of Linus with a sign sitting in pumpkins, and then Snoopy (aka Red Baron) was positioned on the fence. She made life-size Disney Christmas ones as well.

I had to chuckle when I saw "Santa Claus is Coming To Town." Recently I was having a discussion with a friend who also has sons. We were talking about teaching them about the birds and the bees. In our family, we tell the boys the correct terms for the male anatomy. Well, in her family they call one particular part of the male anatomy by a silly name instead of using the proper term. I just laughed and laughed and said, "You know that's one of the elves names in 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town,' right???" Well, she didn't. She didn't really seem to know what show I was talking about, either. Still gives me a chuckle!

deej -

The survey was so much fun! It is soooo boring when I get some long, horrible survey about mobile phones or banking or healthcare. Usually the really long surveys are not about 'good' topics. This was a rarity!

I'm really curious to find out what the purpose of the Christmas song survey was! It seemed to mainly focus on the different versions of the songs, and whose version of "Winter Wonderland" or whatever was preferred. So maybe that means if enough people said that they didn't like Bruce Springsteen's version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," they (Pandora and/or Last.fm) will take it off the playlist? Maybe they are in the process of putting together a new holiday playlist specifically for the holiday season?

It seems like "Mad Monster Party" must have been a straight-to-video sort of thing? I can't figure it out. In any case, it never aired anywhere that I can recall when I was a kid watching Rankin-Bass shows. But it must be great because it's from the same people who created Snow Miser and Heat Miser!

The one with Frosty and Rudolph together is "Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July"!!! Another gem!!! There are so many good Rankin-Bass shows!

Your sister's "Peanuts" & Disney cutouts sound amazing! What a creative thing to do for Halloween and Christmas. What did she do with the cutouts when she moved into an apartment? Did she put them in storage, I hope?

Your friend may want to choose a different name for the 'parts'!

So many decisions to make about your AP. I'd vote for the 11/11 and 11/12 trip so you are there on the first advertised 'holiday' day. I've seen shows on what Disney can do overnight and I'd hate for you ( and vicariously me) to miss out on any new holiday touches!

I'm still hoping you can sneak in a Halloween day trip.

Hi, TK!

Yes, so many decisions and not enough mental energy to make them. And not enough money either. Let's face it, if $$$ were not an issue I would have had everything settled and planned out a long time ago. Money changes everything, as the old Cyndi Lauper song goes...

I'm still unsure of what I will do about the AP.

I agree - even though, logically, I know that 97% of the holiday stuff will be up by 11/9 or 11/10, there is a chance that something like the (new) Holly Jolly Jamboree - which is taking the place of the Reindeer Round-Up - may not be open until 11/12, and that is something I want to see. I don't want to risk missing any little thing that may not open or appear until 11/12.

And then there is the issue of the fate of the holiday parade, fireworks, snow, etc. next year. To be honest, I could go for another few years without sitting through the parade again - I need a little break from it - but knowing that this year will probably be the last year I can see it without paying even more money for a party makes me wonder if I want to see it 'one last time' this year. Once more for the road!!

I can skip the fireworks too. So, for all intents and purposes, a Christmas party would not hold much appeal for me if the main events were just the parade and fireworks. What I am most upset about is the snow on Main Street becoming a party exclusive. That is one of those 'truly Disney' magical moments of the holidays and I hate the idea of either having to see it as part of a paid party or be forced to see it during Christmas week or New Year's week next year, when it is already super-crowded.

And, as for the Candlelight Processional? Until I know if I can see it this year, I can't decide if I'd want to see it again next year!

I've still not yet given up hope on Halloween, but the holidays are approaching so rapidly that I was forced to start looking at the November plan, and then the December plan.

Sherry, I love Christmas music as much as the next person, but I think 625 snippets might have put me on sugar overload. Glad they asked you to do it and paid you well. My kids have started their Christmas music for band, so it's interesting to try to "name that tune,"especially if they don't have the melody part. I get to sit through four Christmas concerts in December. I will love it, but DS7 will probably be trying to tunnel out after a couple of them. Poor youngest

Seize the day!! Go to Disneyland!!

PHXscuba

PHX -

I hope your kids have the melodies for the Christmas songs nailed down in time for the Christmas concerts! Yes, it doesn't sound like a good time for the 7-year-old! I think that adults would appreciate the concerts much more.

Oh, I loved the 625 snippets!! (And by the way, how odd is that number? Why 625 snippets? Why not 600, or 650, or 500?) I think the selection stayed interesting because it was so diverse. The artists and music styles were so varied that even though the songs were the same, it didn't seem as redundant as I would have expected.

One minute I'd be listening to The Carpenters and the next second it would be Bon Jovi. And then U2. And then Luther Vandross. And then Bob Seger. And then The Pretenders. And then a random choir. And then an instrumental. And then Josh Groban. And then Barbara Streisand. And then the Stray Cats. And many Neil Diamond songs. And then the "Heat Miser/Snow Miser" song. And so much more...

But I am unusual. I just love love love Christmas music!

What I discovered in my Christmas song survey was how I seem to prefer the 'original' versions of songs over the newer, jazzier versions most of the time.


I will be going to DLR - it's just a matter of how and exactly when! It takes some figuring out. I'm not missing the opening weekend of the holiday season, whichever day I decide on - if, for no other reason, because I want to stay up to date on the new things for the Superthread and for the podcast. And I'll be back again at some point in December to see my usual Orange County friends. I just have to get all the particulars in place.

 

[Sherry E]

This is the Autumn/Halloween event at the Original Farmers Market that I was talking about:

Fall Festival​

It's taking place this weekend. Originally I thought I might try going on Saturday, but then I noticed that "Gene the Pumpkin Carver" only seems to be there on Sunday. I'm all about seeing the intricately carved pumpkins - that would be a highlight for me - so I think I might have to stick with Gene!!

Other than that, I'm slightly fearful of the "Strolling Scarecrow" and the "World's Largest Potato on Wheels."

​

On to Christmasy things...

Did you know that you can order Christmas trees online and have them shipped to you? Not just fake ones, but real ones of all sizes!

To me, part of the ritual of celebrating the holidays is to go to a tree lot and pick out a tree. The smell of pine is wonderful; finding just the perfect tree is amazing; and getting lost among the rows of trees is great fun. However, in my situation it's not like I can get out to a tree lot and bring home a tree! It would be a whole ordeal.

Also, there is the issue of not really having enough room or the right place to set up a tree in my apartment. I would have to move a chair in order to set up a big tree, and there is nowhere for the chair to go!

So I might have to go with a smaller tabletop tree and order it online - but I sooooo love the big trees, or at least the medium-sized ones. Lights and ornaments never seem quite as pretty on small trees, do they?

Until recently I had no clue one could order trees online - and I still think the idea is silly, and yet I have longed for a tree for years. I've missed the whole Christmas tree decorating experience (last time I got to participate in tree decorating was at work several years ago).

So I might have to test out this Internet tree thing and see what happens - why do I have a feeling that the tree would arrive with all of the needles at the bottom of the box and the branches totally bare? I'd have my very own, real life "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree."

I'm off to watch another Halloween special on the Travel Channel...

 

[Sherry E]

Aside from the Fall Festival I posted about last night, I am soooooooooo excited!

This morning I woke up to discover that one of the followers in my Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread posted a link to this wonderful Stitch Kingdom article from last night...


http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disney...stivities-buena-vista-street-cars-land-58050/



I am OVER. THE. MOON. I am bursting with holiday cheer and elation!

Soaking in the specific details of exactly what Buena Vista Street and Cars Land will look like this coming holiday season nearly made me cry tears of joy - no joke.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am for the holidays!

Disney has been cutting back on things so much - even though they package it up and present it all in such a way that makes it look like they are adding in extra things (such as the "Carnival" for Halloween Time). They may still be taking away some highlights - like the reindeer at the Round-Up

- but if Cars Land and Buena Vista Street are really this detailed and all-encompassing, I can forgive them for dropping the ball on Halloween Tiime!

I'm still not quite sure if Toontown and New Orleans Square will be as decorated as they usually are, but we'll see...

In any case, the Buena Vista Street scenario sounds exactly like what I would have expected back in the 1930's, when my grandmother was a young woman in Los Angeles. Townspeople standing by the tree, singing carols. Santa holding court inside a department store (I used to visit Santa inside Broadway, May Company, Bullock's and Orbach's as a kid!).

Cars Land sounds as if it will exceed my expectations. Snowy the Snow Car? Who knew?? But I can't wait!

The lights programmed for the holidays on Mickey's Fun Wheel? I can't take it!

The glee is overwhelming. I wish that my PPH multi-night stay were this year instead of last year, but that doesn't seem like it will happen again.

I just cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to this most wonderful holiday season at DLR. I love Christmas sooooo much anyway - and as long as Disneyland itself doesn't take a hit and get stripped of some of its integral decorations

, this could possibly be the best holiday season in YEARS!

And you know I will be writing about it here, as well as taking a bountiful array of photos!

 

[tksbaskets]

Sweet!!! I can't wait to start seeing all these great decorations in your trip report. Do you think you'll go for more than one day? Your little emoticons are adorable too. HO HO HO!!

 

[Sherry E]

Sweet!!! I can't wait to start seeing all these great decorations in your trip report. Do you think you'll go for more than one day? Your little emoticons are adorable too. HO HO HO!!

Hi, TK!

I had to search high and low for those emoticons! I needed to find the right ones to express myself! To be honest, I'm not even sure exactly where I ended up finding them because I looked so many places. I think they may have been on a publicly shared page on Photobucket - like a community-shared page, not a private account.

As excited as I am about Cars Land's decorations, I think I may be more excited about BVS' set-up! If it's done right, it could look like something out of vintage holiday snapshot. I'm ready to camp out there now and wait for November!

So this makes me wonder - will there be no photo spot in the Paradise Pier area at all? Not even for Santa Goofy or Santa Mickey? The actual Santa will be in Elias. That gazebo on the Pier was so nice and picturesque.




You know, if ever there were a trip that would necessitate a multi-night stay, or a multi-day visit, it would be this one! There is new holiday territory to cover! I would have thought that last year's trip would be the one that required multiple days, but we all know how that trip went.

At this moment, the reality of the situation would seem to tell me that I will probably head to DLR on the holiday season's opening day or the day before it, in November, and then head back again for a day sometime in December - when it feels extra, extra Christmasy (and to possibly see the CP, depending on how that is handled).

Ideally, of course, I would like to do a multi-night stay - heck, I'd even settle for offsite at this point, although it will make me sad to not pass by the PPH tree every morning and evening!

But I think that, given the fact that we're in October now, I don't see a windfall happening in enough time to book a hotel stay. So I think the reality will win out over the ideal scenario.

TK, Do you think your next DLR holiday trip will be in 2013 or 2014?

​

 

[bumbershoot]

I hope you get a trip in soon!

And I adore the "year of holidays" idea that's bubbling around in your head.

Seems you feel the same way about the 80s as my mom did about the 60s. She felt that most movies got it just wrong enough to be annoying. She was there in SF, living it all on the outskirts, just a bit less wasted than everyone else, so she saw things a bit more as they were. Everyone who makes movies who was there was just blitzed, and didn't have as much reality left in their head as she did. That's what I imagine you were like; the one who was much more aware of reality than people around you. I know it was very frustrating for her!


Just one last little mention of the TR you finished..."I honestly think that she goes out of her way to be super-nice to our mutual friends, just so they won't believe me." EW ew ew and more ew. If she does that in her family, ew ew ew. That's all I can think and say. I've been a child on the receiving end of that sort of dynamic (or related dynamics), and EW.

There, I'm done.



I wonder if maybe the reindeer are getting old? I wonder if guests are harming them with dropped food (being generous here, since I imagine there are a lot of guests who GIVE them food) or weird human diseases, or if it's just overwhelming for the animals to be out there in the public like that? I like to think that the reindeer might be going away in order to protect them, not to just be cheap.

 

[tksbaskets]

Hi Sherry,
My plan is DLR December 2013 We'll see.

TK

 

[mvf-m11c]

I haven't been reading your updates lately since I have been busy lately. It will be very nice Sherry if you are able to go to the first day of the Holiday season at the DLR. I would like to go on the opening week as well, but as you know that I will be there on the first weekend. At least we can hear from you about the new additions to the holiday season. I did read what you said about NOS having the decorations up this year and I am glad that they are having them. It wouldn't be the same without NOS holiday decorations. But the other question is how much will they have up in NOS.

I didn't like to read that article by Al Lutz a couple of days ago and hoped that isn't true. We did talk about this in the past that the DLR is leaning towards the parade and fireworks as part of an exclusive party just like MHP.

 

[Sherry E]

I hope you get a trip in soon!

And I adore the "year of holidays" idea that's bubbling around in your head.

Seems you feel the same way about the 80s as my mom did about the 60s. She felt that most movies got it just wrong enough to be annoying. She was there in SF, living it all on the outskirts, just a bit less wasted than everyone else, so she saw things a bit more as they were. Everyone who makes movies who was there was just blitzed, and didn't have as much reality left in their head as she did. That's what I imagine you were like; the one who was much more aware of reality than people around you. I know it was very frustrating for her!


Just one last little mention of the TR you finished..."I honestly think that she goes out of her way to be super-nice to our mutual friends, just so they won't believe me." EW ew ew and more ew. If she does that in her family, ew ew ew. That's all I can think and say. I've been a child on the receiving end of that sort of dynamic (or related dynamics), and EW.

There, I'm done.


I wonder if maybe the reindeer are getting old? I wonder if guests are harming them with dropped food (being generous here, since I imagine there are a lot of guests who GIVE them food) or weird human diseases, or if it's just overwhelming for the animals to be out there in the public like that? I like to think that the reindeer might be going away in order to protect them, not to just be cheap.

Hi, Molly!

Gee, I appreciate your taking the time to pop over here and comment. Based on what you've been posting in your TR lately, I know you've had a lot going on.

Thank you - I hope I get in some kind of a trip soon too. Well, there will be some sort of trip - I am not missing "Snowy the Snow Car" in Cars Land for anything - I just don't know the length of the trip. It could be a short one, or a few short ones spread out over November/December...or something!

I wish I could get the Year of Holidays idea going. I like the idea. I think it would be a fun quest. I don't know if it will happen. It may just continue to bubble around in my head!

I was much more aware of reality in the '80s than some others, yes! Most folks were in some kind of altered state (but I was not)! However, at the time I was around the Poison camp, they were not doing anything terribly toxic or horrible. They were not even drinking on any kind of unhealthy level, if at all, when we saw them. It was after "M" and I lost touch with them and they began to tour even more that they started in on the bad stuff.

But I still remember the good ol' days of driving down La Brea in "M's" car, with Bret Michaels in the back seat, stopping at 7-11 or McDonald's along the way, listening to Boston (the band) or Motley Crue and talking to Bret about how he didn't really drink.

It definitely sounds like I have a similar view to your mom's view of the '60s. One interesting documentary about the '80s on the Sunset Strip is "The Decline of Western Civilization: The Metal Years." It was directed by Penelope Spheeris (who also did "Wayne's World). I remember seeing Penelope walking around the clubs or after Poison concerts as she did her "research" for the film. It was interesting when it finally came out - there are a lot of people I either know, knew or saw frequently on the Strip in that movie.

You know, I think "M" is up to those same sorts of shenanigans (acting extra nice to some and not to others) with family, friends and whomever else. I have probably just not heard of all of the other people (besides the cousin) who have witnessed it too.

As for the reindeer - I am sad to see them go from DLR, but I always felt bad for them because their breathing was very rapid and shallow. I always worried that they were not taking in enough oxygen in this SoCal air! The baby goats and the burros seemed to be faring a little better in the breathing department. The reindeer are likely used to different climates. So if the reindeer are better off health-wise by not being on display at DLR, I don't mind them being gone. I don't want any animals to suffer miserably for my entertainment. I would rather that they be in an environment where they are happy and comfortable.

People would try to feed the reindeer - which was forbidden at the Round-Up - and the reindeer were ornery and hostile!

Hi Sherry,
My plan is DLR December 2013 We'll see.

TK

TK -

I am crossing my fingers for you that a 12/2013 trip is in the cards! And you'll be at WDW this season - will you be taking lots of pictures of the new Fantasyland? If so, I can't wait to see them!

I haven't been reading your updates lately since I have been busy lately. It will be very nice Sherry if you are able to go to the first day of the Holiday season at the DLR. I would like to go on the opening week as well, but as you know that I will be there on the first weekend. At least we can hear from you about the new additions to the holiday season. I did read what you said about NOS having the decorations up this year and I am glad that they are having them. It wouldn't be the same without NOS holiday decorations. But the other question is how much will they have up in NOS.

I didn't like to read that article by Al Lutz a couple of days ago and hoped that isn't true. We did talk about this in the past that the DLR is leaning towards the parade and fireworks as part of an exclusive party just like MHP.

Bret!

I was wondering where you were - not in this specific TR here, but in your own! I had planned on going over to your TR in another day or two and asking if you were okay! It seemed like you had disappeared. I read the updates in your "Boo to You" thread. I hope that can still be an enjoyable trip for you.

Yep - I think a Christmas party with the parade, snow and fireworks is inevitable at DLR. I think it's just a matter of exactly how it will be handled, what exactly will be included in the party, and on which non-party nights will those things be showing (in other words, only during Christmas week and New year's week, which would be a crowded nightmare)?

I am thinking that something will have to be added into DCA, holiday-wise, to make up for the party in DL, if it happens. DLR does not have enough alternate choices for holiday entertainment if people don't want to buy a party ticket. WDW has lots of places to go and things to see. I would think that something extra has to be added in to DCA to kind of balance it all out - decorating Cars Land won't be enough.

Did you read the full article on Stitch Kingdom about what the Cars Land and Buena Vista Street decor will entail? Snowy the Snow Car!! Santa inside the store! (Maybe no more photo spot in the Paradise Pier area of DCA??) It all sounds great!

You read my mind - I was very relieved and happy to hear back from Erin that the NOS and TT decorations will be back again this year (hello, ugly Toontown trees!), but I also wondered "How much?" I kept thinking that we will be able to tell if any wreaths or masks or trees are missing from those lands - so in case DLR tries to be sneaky and remove some random things here and there, assuming that we won't notice...wrong. We will notice!

I'll be at DLR either on 11/11 or 11/12, I think. I want to be sure that the Holly Jolly Jamboree will be open when I go - I don't want to miss that.

Bret, I know you'll be at DLR on opening day of the season, but when does your trip begin? Does it begin on 11/12 or just before that date? You'll probably catch quite a few things that I don't have time to catch, and you'll have more time to take more photos, so the Superthread folks will count on you to report back and tell everyone what you see as well!!

 

[tksbaskets]

Oh you know I'll be taking a TON of pictures of the new FL!

TK

 

[mvf-m11c]

Bret!

I was wondering where you were - not in this specific TR here, but in your own! I had planned on going over to your TR in another day or two and asking if you were okay! It seemed like you had disappeared. I read the updates in your "Boo to You" thread. I hope that can still be an enjoyable trip for you.

Yep - I think a Christmas party with the parade, snow and fireworks is inevitable at DLR. I think it's just a matter of exactly how it will be handled, what exactly will be included in the party, and on which non-party nights will those things be showing (in other words, only during Christmas week and New year's week, which would be a crowded nightmare)?

I am thinking that something will have to be added into DCA, holiday-wise, to make up for the party in DL, if it happens. DLR does not have enough alternate choices for holiday entertainment if people don't want to buy a party ticket. WDW has lots of places to go and things to see. I would think that something extra has to be added in to DCA to kind of balance it all out - decorating Cars Land won't be enough.

Did you read the full article on Stitch Kingdom about what the Cars Land and Buena Vista Street decor will entail? Snowy the Snow Car!! Santa inside the store! (Maybe no more photo spot in the Paradise Pier area of DCA??) It all sounds great!

You read my mind - I was very relieved and happy to hear back from Erin that the NOS and TT decorations will be back again this year (hello, ugly Toontown trees!), but I also wondered "How much?" I kept thinking that we will be able to tell if any wreaths or masks or trees are missing from those lands - so in case DLR tries to be sneaky and remove some random things here and there, assuming that we won't notice...wrong. We will notice!

I'll be at DLR either on 11/11 or 11/12, I think. I want to be sure that the Holly Jolly Jamboree will be open when I go - I don't want to miss that.

Bret, I know you'll be at DLR on opening day of the season, but when does your trip begin? Does it begin on 11/12 or just before that date? You'll probably catch quite a few things that I don't have time to catch, and you'll have more time to take more photos, so the Superthread folks will count on you to report back and tell everyone what you see as well!!

I have been busy lately and I am now back in basketball season mode. So I will be barely on the threads. But I'll still check-in once in awhile to see what kind of updates from the threads that I read. I am sometimes reading the threads and I have barely respond to them.

I can tell you about the Christmas party at DL which will not go well with the regular Holiday guests where they have to pay another separate admission just to see the fireworks, parade and snow. If this does happen, I will never even pay to see those nighttime events since I have seen them a lot at DL. If they do a new firework show, parade, etc. where this is the first time doing it, than I would consider paying for a ticket. I am wondering the same thing and what will they do for the party, will it be a lot like MVMCP at the MK. MVMCP had a treat station where they had cookie and hot chocolate for free as part of the admission. There is a lot of questions about the party. It will be a nightmare and so much confusion.

DL does not have a lot of choices where the MK at WDW has more to offer at that park than at DL.

I didn't read the whole article yet and I will remind myself to read it later tonight or tomorrow morning. That will be interesting to see Snowy the Snow Car and a Santa inside the store.IT does sound great.

It was nice to hear that NOS and TT will have there decorations for the Holiday season. I was kind of surprised that your question about NOS and TT on the Disney Blog didn't show up. At least they told everyone that those two lands with the decorations will be back up. I am also wondering the same thing and how much decorations will they have up? With most of the decorations going to CL, we are hoping that Disney won't take much decorations out of all the other lands at the DLR.

As least you will be there during the first few days of the Holiday season.

I will be there on the 16th to 18th. I was considering going on the 10th to 12th, but I'll be back from WDW in one week and heading back to DL in a week is too close. So my DA and I will be going in two weeks after I get back from WDW. I'll be looking forward to your report and I will be all set up when I go to DL.

 

[Sherry E]

Oh you know I'll be taking a TON of pictures of the new FL!

TK

TK -

I hope so! That whole forest area looks like it will be amazing.

I was chuckling to myself as I recalled the "new" Fantasyland that we got at DL in 1983. While it was nice to have a new Pinocchio ride and some other changes, it was nowhere near the scope and scale of the New Fantasyland that is coming to MK!

I have been busy lately and I am now back in basketball season mode. So I will be barely on the threads. But I'll still check-in once in awhile to see what kind of updates from the threads that I read. I am sometimes reading the threads and I have barely respond to them.

I can tell you about the Christmas party at DL which will not go well with the regular Holiday guests where they have to pay another separate admission just to see the fireworks, parade and snow. If this does happen, I will never even pay to see those nighttime events since I have seen them a lot at DL. If they do a new firework show, parade, etc. where this is the first time doing it, than I would consider paying for a ticket. I am wondering the same thing and what will they do for the party, will it be a lot like MVMCP at the MK. MVMCP had a treat station where they had cookie and hot chocolate for free as part of the admission. There is a lot of questions about the party. It will be a nightmare and so much confusion.

DL does not have a lot of choices where the MK at WDW has more to offer at that park than at DL.

I didn't read the whole article yet and I will remind myself to read it later tonight or tomorrow morning. That will be interesting to see Snowy the Snow Car and a Santa inside the store.IT does sound great.

It was nice to hear that NOS and TT will have there decorations for the Holiday season. I was kind of surprised that your question about NOS and TT on the Disney Blog didn't show up. At least they told everyone that those two lands with the decorations will be back up. I am also wondering the same thing and how much decorations will they have up? With most of the decorations going to CL, we are hoping that Disney won't take much decorations out of all the other lands at the DLR.

As least you will be there during the first few days of the Holiday season.

I will be there on the 16th to 18th. I was considering going on the 10th to 12th, but I'll be back from WDW in one week and heading back to DL in a week is too close. So my DA and I will be going in two weeks after I get back from WDW. I'll be looking forward to your report and I will be all set up when I go to DL.

Bret -

I think that maybe new people - people who have never gone to DLR for the holidays or who have never seen the parade/fireworks/snow - may be more inclined to buy the ticket.

I also think that some people will convince themselves that by purchasing a ticket to a Christmas party, they will be avoiding big crowds (which won't be the case - the crowds will still be everywhere because it's the holiday season), so they will buy tickets.

Outside of those two groups of people, I think that many, many folks who have already seen the parade and fireworks will refrain from buying tickets to a party. I'm not sure that sticking the Candlelight Processional into the party package would be enough to get those folks to buy tickets. Quite simply, if people have already seen the parade and fireworks many times over the years, there won't be any reason to buy a ticket to see them again.

Now, if Disney starts to do things like hold all of the holiday entertainment options hostage - for example, they don't open up the Holly Jolly Jamboree except for the party; they don't turn the icicle lights on the Castle until the party, etc., that may make a difference. Then it would be like they were holding Christmas hostage and forcing everyone to pay even more to enjoy any of the holiday entertainment, leaving us only with the decorations on the non-party days.

I'm guessing that DLR will add something extra into DCA - an all-holiday WoC; a holiday TSMM; something. - to give people other things to do if the party in DL happens.

For some reason, I think it escaped me that you had decided on 11/16 - 11/18 for your DLR dates, and yet it makes sense because your WDW trip is ending very close to the DLR date and it would be packing too much into a small window of time.

I'm hoping that everything in the Stitch Kingdom article is true - it sounds as if they got a 'scoop' or an exclusive story from the Disney people. That's why I'm thinking it has to be true and accurate - they gave so many specific details about what's to come in CL and on BVS for the season that we have not heard before. I mean, this is the first time we've ever heard of Snowy the Snow Car! And I had no idea they would put Santa inside the store - I thought he would be out in front of the tree!

And unlike Al Lutz, SK did not say that this is what's being discussed - they said that this is what's happening. So I am thinking it's all accurate.

You know, if Disney does this holiday season right and doesn't skimp on decorations in any of the other lands (NOS, TT, MS), and if Cars Land and Buena Vista Street are as amazing as they sound, I might just forgive them for totally scaling back Halloween Time!

 

[Sherry E]

I meant to remind you all earlier when I posted - but got distracted and had to suddenly exit the post, and then got hit with a bad headache - that in just about 3 weeks I will be at DLR, meeting my new friend Snowy the Snow Car for the first time!

I may even christen my first visit of the holiday season by eating a peppermint ice cream cone!

I hadn't really thought about how late I would stay in the parks that day (knowing myself, I will likely get a very early morning start - because you all know how I love the crisp, cool quiet mornings at DLR), but I realize that staying until dark is probably a key factor, as the Christmas lights in Cars Land and on Buena Vista Street will inevitably be amazing. As it is, I haven't even spent nearly enough time in Disneyland at night, let alone in California Adventure!

This means I'd better grab one of those 'free refill' coffee deals at the Market House, so I can keep loading up on the caffeine when I need it!

I have not yet decided if I will just make it a totally solo day - which would be better for photo-taking - or if I want Shawn to come over and meet me for dinner in DTD or the hotels or something. I'm assuming I'll be back in December and can spend time with her then.

Anyway, it could be 3 weeks and 2 days, or 3 weeks and 3 days. Either way, in just about 3 weeks I will be back at DLR for a taste of the holidays!